The AltRaps Blog

A Diaw trade possibility involved Toronto, where talk centered on Diaw leaving for point guard T.J. Ford and the Raptors’ No. 17 pick in Thursday’s draft. Talks cooled but might reignite with Porter aboard. In Porter’s first season as Milwaukee’s head coach, Ford helped the Bucks to a 41-41 playoff season. When Ford missed the next season after neck surgery, the Bucks went 30-52 and fired Porter.

Ford, 25, is drawing interest but is a risk after having two vertebrae fused in 2004. He has three contract years worth $25 million remaining.

The Raptors, run by ex-Suns President Bryan Colangelo, just bought out Jorge Garbajosa and might be looking for a versatile forward such as Diaw, who will make $9 million in each of the next four seasons.

- AZCentral

Raptors director of player personnel, Jim Kelly, said Hibbert is like most players in the mid-to-nether-regions of this draft: Strong in some areas, but not without a few blemishes.

“You look a little bit at (his slow) foot speed and you put that into your equation how much that factors in, but he can shoot the ball,” Kelly said.

“He’s one of the few big guys who still has the hook shot with the left hand and right hand, a little bit old school, but still a very effective shot for a big man.”

- Toronto Sun

A pair of highly-touted, draft-eligible players failed to make it to the Adidas practice court at the ACC to work out for the Raptors braintrust.

The Raptors originally were scheduled to work out 6-foot-8 French small forward Nicolas Batum, who is projected to go mid-way to late in the first round in next Thursday’s draft. The Raptors select 17th and there have been suggestions that the athletic, defensive-minded Batum could be on their radar.

But while the 20-year-old Frenchman did actually make it to Toronto, and underwent a physical with team doctors on Wednesday, he didn’t make it to the ACC.

“He’s in town, he took the physical but wasn’t feeling good (yesterday), so he didn’t work out,” said Jim Kelly, the Raptors director of player personnel. “But we would like to try to get him back.”

Kelly wouldn’t elaborate on what Batum’s affliction was, but said that the Raptors did scout him at a multi-player workout in Oakland last Saturday and have a pretty good idea of what he can do.

“You never see enough of them, you always want to see more, but we do have a background on him. We followed him for a number of years, and we saw him in a work- out, but it’s always better to have him in your own gym,” Kelly said.

The Raptors also were hoping to work out 7-foot power forward JaVale McGee, but, according to Kelly, the Nevada star couldn’t make it to Toronto because of passport issues, although there have been reports that his mother will not allow her son to work out for teams that pick lower than 12th in the draft.

Greene, who took a lot of heat from Orangemen fans for leaving Syracuse after his freshman year, could go as high as 10th in the draft, but is not taking anything for granted and has yet to turn down a workout with any NBA team.

“I know a couple of guys that had guarantees (from teams in the draft) and were sitting in Madison Square Garden looking retarded because they didn’t get picked, so I’m not too big on guarantees,” said Greene, adding that he wasn’t about to risk an injury or a poor season by returning to Syracuse.

“Growing up in Baltimore in the inner city and not always having what they call the good life — if I have the opportunity (to play in the NBA), I’m going to take it,” he said.

- Toronto Sun

“(Thursday) we brought in big (7-foot-3 Georgetown centre Roy) Hibbert, and we also brought in (Syracuse’s Donte) Greene at a wing and we’re still not sure what direction we’re going to go,” said Jim Kelly, Toronto’s director of player personnel.

Do they go big? Do they go small? Do the persistent trade talks general manager Bryan Colangelo is having play a role? Are those trades about divesting themselves of the pick or acquiring another?

“We’re trying (to work on simultaneous transactions). It’s a possibility it could come but it doesn’t mean it’s going to happen,” said Kelly.

So they are left with a handful of possibilities to still sift through.

“I think our list is starting to narrow,” said Kelly.

- Toronto Star

“I think you also have a fatigue or slight injury factor here,” Raptors director of player personnel Jim Kelly said yesterday after working out a group of players that included Syracuse swingman Donte Greene and Georgetown centre Roy Hibbert.

“Every team wants to take a look at them. It’s a pretty intense workout schedule, plus travel schedule. And it’s compacted into less than three weeks time. So more and more injuries are coming in.”

That is the sunny point of view. “Then you have the politics of

teams promising players if they don’t go somewhere else, they will take them,” Kelly said.

“And then you have some guys who are just tired and they just don’t want to go, because they think when they get there, they won’t be able to show their best and won’t make a good impression. I think you take those three things and put them in a chemical equation. There might be an answer, but I don’t know what the right one is.”

Hibbert is a mammoth 7-foot centre, and thus, his foot speed is an issue.

However, he is also potential first-round pick who played four years in college, an increasingly rare breed among highly ranked freshman.

“I want to show people, ‘Hey, I can go to college and graduate in four years and then go off to the NBA,’ ” Hibbert said.

- National Post

They finished 20th in rebounding and started Rasho Nesterovic 39 times and played him 20.9 minutes a game in all, so getting a big man to ride shotgun to Chris Bosh is a logical direction. The Raptors are right in the range of what should be a run on centers and physical power forwards: Robin Lopez, JaVale McGee, Kosta Koufos, Marreese Speights, Roy Hibbert probably not far behind.

- Sacramento Bee

Do the Toronto Raptors have a better idea of who they are going to select after today? Yes they likely do have a better idea. But one phone ringing on draft night can change all of that. You never know what may happen on draft night and that is why a team that current holds only one pick at number 17 takes the time to evaluate as many players as they can.  Bryan Colangelo said on the subject of the draft that you are not juset evaluating players for this draft but for future beyond it. Should a player become part of a trade in the future or not be drafted and go off to another league and develop, you have established an idea of him as a player and person and have a more informed opinion to work from.

- Dino Nation Blog

Hibbert has the size that Toronto needs - a legit 7′2 frame that would give the Raptors a true big man in the middle.  Hibbert believes he could be a good fit for the Raptors as well … even in their (at times) run-and-gun offense, because he’s been doing a ton of running and working on his speed and conditioning.

Hibbert was great with the media, not shying away from any questions, especially when folks began to press him about why he stayed in school - and possibly hurt his standing in the Draft - and whether or not he pays any attention to websites and prognosticators that have him going anywhere from 10TH to 20TH next week.  He said - and I’m paraphrasing - that a career in the NBA is a marathon, not a sprint, so he doesn’t care if he goes 1oTH, 30TH, or in the second round … he’ll continue to work hard and guarantee that folks are talking about him - and his solid career - down the road.

Donte Greene was pretty intriguing as well.  Unlike previous sessions, we (the media) weren’t let in early … so I wasn’t able to actually see any of the workout.  But by all indications, mostly from Kelly, Greene and Hibbert both put in a good showing.

Greene said this may have been his best workout - along with solid performances in New York and Milwaukee as well.

The most interesting part of my chat with Greene was when he talked about how “hated” he is in Syracuse right now.  Fans of the Orange are beyond peeved at Greene … for walking away from the ‘Cuse early.  He said he knows that he’s probably public enemy number one right now but he hopes he can show his face on campus some time soon.  Greene stated that his decision to come out early was not only based on his skills - and the fact that he’s pretty confident he’ll go in the first round - but it was also based on his humble upbringing in Baltimore.  He knows he has a chance to make very good money and take care of his family … and if he blew out his knee (for example) while playing another year at Syracuse could shatter his dreams.

Greene’s only miscue today was when he used the word “retarded” when referring to some players that have - in the past - received “guarantees” from various NBA teams.  He said he knows of at least a couple of players that got guarantees, only to end up sitting in the green room at MSG, not selected, looking “retarded”.

It was an honest statement/answer but obviously not the most politically correct.  I certainly wouldn’t judge the young man on one ill-advised comment though.  He came across as a very knowledgeable, approachable, and down to earth guy.

- Fan590

No NBA club is more active on the trade market, we’re told, than the Raptors, who’ll try to make a big splash before next Thursday’s draft. They’re dangling several players, none more aggressively than T.J. Ford.

- Metro News

(gotta love Marty York, who, in this same article, says that Marc Gasol will be a high draft pick this season….even though he is already in the Grizzlies organization)